Field of the Disclosure
The present invention relates generally to circuits. More specifically, examples of the present invention are related to interface circuits that transmit signals.
Background
Electronic circuits consume power to operate. When communicating between electronic circuit elements, electronic signals are typically transmitted and received across electrical conductors coupled between the circuit elements. The communications are typically realized with electrical voltages and/or currents that are transmitted and received across the electrical conductors between the input and output circuitry of the electronic circuits.
There are tradeoffs that designers must face when designing electronic circuits that need to interface with other circuits. In some instances, it may be a requirement for a designer to choose interface circuitry that operates at lower voltages than the normal supply voltages that are used to supply power to other parts of the electronic circuits in order to realize power savings across the communications interface between the electronic circuits. However, powering the communication interface circuitry with lower voltages than other parts of the electronic circuits requires more complex and expensive power management, as well as large and expensive external capacitors. In other instances, it may be a requirement for a designer to choose powering the communication interface circuitry with the same supply voltages as other parts of the electronic circuits to enable simpler and less costly power management, which eliminate the need for the external capacitors. However, the higher voltages used in the transmit and receive circuitry of electronic circuits consequently result in increased power consumption with no power savings when communicating across the communications interface between the electronic circuits.
Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding components throughout the several views of the drawings. Skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of various embodiments of the present invention. Also, common but well-understood elements that are useful or necessary in a commercially feasible embodiment are often not depicted in order to facilitate a less obstructed view of these various embodiments of the present invention.